10/27/06
Guidelines for Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Outline
Foreword
I. Purpose and Need for Capacity Determination
Overview
Basis in Law
Basis in Agency Policy
- Bureau of Land Management Policy
- Forest Service Policy
Relationship to Agency Planning
- National Forest Planning
II. Definition of Visitor Capacity
III. Approaches to Determining Capacity
Capacity Determination Methods
Theoretical Formula or Coefficient Method
Limiting Factor Method
Limits Set at Current Use Level or Conditions
Standards-based Method
Variations and Applications
IV. Process Guidelines
General Guidelines for Determining Wilderness Capacity
Determining Numeric Capacity
Wilderness Stewardship Framework
Numeric Capacity Determination Template - Standards-based Method
Pitfalls, Hints and Suggestions
V. Examples
VI. References
VII. Appendix – Agency Strategies
Forest Service 10Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge – Elements 5 and 8
Note - For information on determining the ‘extent necessary’ and allocation of use for commercial services (outfitter-guides) in wilderness see the companion paper Determining the Extent Necessary and Allocating Commercial Use in Wilderness.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Note - The information presented in the Capacity Determination section is suggested guidance based on existing law, regulation, and policy. It does not represent new policy.
Foreword
The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System and requires that wilderness areas are to be “…administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness…” The law also mandates that the managing agency “…preserve its wilderness character…”, “… preserve its natural conditions…” in areas that have “…outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation…” while allowing necessary commercial services and as part of “… the enduring resource of wilderness…” But nowhere in the law is determination of visitor use capacity specifically mentioned. The need to determine wilderness visitor use capacity comes from agency policy which is based on the intent of law but also the research based management principles which link desired conditions for the wilderness with human caused impacts.
The lack of an established methodology in agency policy for defining capacity, along with budget and staff constraints, has resulted in a variety of approaches. In many cases, little information is (or was) collected about baseline visitor use. And, except in wilderness where permits (or registration) are required, use levels are seldom monitored. Because of this lack of information about user trends, efforts to manage visitor use are usually not initiated until resource damage or other conflicts occur, at which point it may be difficult to reduce the number of visitors, or to minimize visitor impacts.
Meanwhile, use of wilderness is changing and continues to evolve with each new generation. Changes in demographics may result in increases in day use, visits by large groups, and requests for commercial services opportunities. In addition, some forests are being challenged, and the courts are ruling, on the management of outfitters and guides. There is a need to determine the ‘extent necessary’ or how much commercial use is needed based on a desired condition and visitor use capacity before allocating use.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
I. Purpose and Need for Capacity Determination
Overview
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a tool for understanding and implementing the intent of the Wilderness Act, regulations, and agency policy related to determining visitor use capacity. The need for determining visitor use capacity for wilderness is unique and different than it may be for other lands because of the unique mandates in the Wilderness Act and because wilderness areas represent one side of the spectrum of multiple uses of the public lands. The science is not exact and even the need for a visitor use capacity can be misinterpreted. Successful managers will employ a thoughtful, collaborative process and plan to monitor the results and adapt management actions as needed.
The Wilderness Act implies, but does not directly state, the need for determining visitor use capacity based on the social, biological, and physical components of the wilderness resource. Clearly human influences are to be minimized so that the wilderness character is preserved, natural conditions are protected, and the benefits of the wilderness resource are available in an unimpaired condition for future generations. The wilderness resource includes all the values of wilderness that are defined by the terms social, biological, and physical. Decisions about management of visitor use must consider the potential benefits and effects to wilderness character as defined by the four statutory qualities of: undeveloped, natural, untrammeled, and outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation. Visitor use of wilderness is part of what wilderness is all about and is compatible with all the other mandates of the Wilderness Act to the point where use and effects degrade the natural conditions or impair the character of the area. Visitor use capacity should therefore, be based on the capability of the wilderness to accommodate use consistent with the established desired condition.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Basis in Law
The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness as a place that:
1. provides “…for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” Section 2(a)
2. “…shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character…” Section 2(a)
3. “…is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions…” Section 2(c)
4. “…has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation…” Section 2(c)
5. “…shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.” Section 4(b)
The Act emphasizes the importance of wilderness character by identifying who is to insure that it is perpetuated. It mandates that:
· “…each agency administering any area designated as wilderness shall be responsible for preserving the wilderness character of the area…” Section 4(b)
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Basis in Agency Policy
Bureau of Land Management Policy -
BLM Manual 8560.08.B.3 Limits to Use. There is a limit to the extent to which such uses as recreation and education may take place within wilderness, because the Wilderness Act also says that they must occur in a manner so as to leave the wilderness unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness. Provision may be made for recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use of wilderness areas in ways that do nor jeopardize the conditions of naturalness, the opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation, or the special features that existed at the time an area was designated wilderness by congress. All public use will be administered to ensure that the wilderness resource is kept unimpaired.
BLM Manual 8560.08.B.5. Use capacity. Use capacity (recreational, historic, educational, etc.) based on social and ecological elements, will be established for each wilderness area, and will be considered in determining how much use to allow.
BLM Manual 8560.14.C. Use Capacity. The use capacity of the wilderness area must be determined, and managers use this capacity to anticipate and avert degradation of the area’s wilderness character and as a basis for mitigating the impacts caused by various uses.
BLM Manual 8560.31. Recreation and Visitor Use. The wilderness resource will be dominant in all management decisions where a choice must be made between preservation of wilderness character and visitor use. There are places and times within wilderness where unique values may require that recreation and visitor use activities be restricted or entirely prohibited in order to preserve an enduring resource of wilderness. The highest priority among various kinds of visitor use will be accorded those activities which are most dependent upon the wilderness environment and cannot be reasonably accommodated outside of wilderness, and lest effect the wilderness environment. Consider the ability of the wilderness resource to sustain visitor use without loss or degradation of the wilderness resource itself. Carrying capacity (social, biological, and physical) may vary widely within and between wilderness areas due to variations in types and amounts of use, resource characteristics, and the capabilities of the resources to sustain different types and amounts of uses. The leading management tool and document to consider these factors and set guidelines for managing visitor use will be the Wilderness Management Plan. These plans describe the level at which an area is able to absorb use and impacts and describe measures needed to protect wilderness values.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Basis in Agency Policy
Forest Service Policy -
In wilderness, determining the capacity for recreation visitor use includes determining the capabilities of the social, biological, and physical components of the wilderness resource to accommodate use without impairment of the wilderness character. Currently, Forest Service Wilderness Management Regulations and Policy do not define what is meant by visitor use capacity or prescribe a specific method for determining or allocating capacity.
FSM 2320.3 for policy:
· Where there are alternatives among management decisions, wilderness values shall dominate over all other considerations except where limited by the Wilderness Act, subsequent legislation, or regulations.
· Manage the use of other resources in wilderness in a manner compatible with wilderness resource management objectives
FSM 2323.11 for Management of Recreation Use in Wilderness:
· Provide, consistent with management of the area as wilderness, opportunities for public use, enjoyment, and understanding of the wilderness, through experiences that depend upon a wilderness setting.
· Provide outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.
FSM 2323.14 for Visitor Management:
· Plan and manage public use of wilderness in such a manner that preserves the wilderness character of the area.
· Provide for the limiting and distribution of visitor use according to periodic estimates of capacity in the forest plan.
FSM 2323.13g for Outfitter and Guide Operations:
· Address the need for and role of outfitters in the forest plan.
· The plan must address the type, number, and amount of recreation use that is to be allocated to outfitters.
· Ensure that outfitters provide their service to the public in a manner that is compatible with use by other wilderness visitors and that maintains the wilderness resource.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Relationship to Agency Planning
National Forest Planning -
Under the 1982 Planning Rule forest plans may contain standards and guidelines which could contain a determination of capacity and/or allocation of commercial use. Alternatively, both capacity and allocation could also be addressed in a wilderness plan later included as an amendment to the forest plan.
Forest Plan revisions under the 2005 Planning Rule include a Vision (Desired Condition) and non-specific Guidelines as part of the Design Criteria. Specific guidelines, adaptive management actions, and monitoring requirements may be developed separately. The NEPA decision and management direction from pre-existing wilderness plans (including a capacity determination) may be retained unchanged in the plan set of documents.
Where there is no pre-existing direction that includes a capacity determination, a subsequent decision-making process, supplemental to the forest plan, would be necessary to determine a more specific numerical capacity. Examples of conditions that could trigger such additional decision-making could include deteriorating conditions, a level of crowding that detracts from the wilderness experience, physical limits (i.e. parking lot size), or as part of a needs assessment and allocation of use for commercial services.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
II. Definition of Visitor Capacity
Agency policies vary in their definitions of what is meant by 'visitor use capacity' and here is little in the way of a process for making a determination. However, numerous definitions of wilderness visitor use capacity exist in technical papers and a variety of methods have been applied in practice.
The concept of carrying capacity comes from range management and has been adapted for recreation and visitors use management in wilderness. “Carrying capacity can be measured at three levels: minimum, maximum, and optimal carrying a capacity” (Skibeness, 1999). “An optimal level trades higher numbers for other benefits…The idea of an optimal rather than a maximum number introduced the notions of quality and values…Most of the social carrying capacity literature points out that capacities cannot be established in the absence of management objectives” (Shelby, 1986).
Four types of carrying capacities are commonly recognized: 1) ecological capacity, which is concerned with impacts on the ecosystem; 2) physical capacity, which is concerned with the amount of actual space; 3) facility capacity which involves facilities to accommodate visitor needs such as parking lots, toilets, etc.; and 4) social capacity, which refers to impacts which alter human experiences (Shelby, 1986 and Skibeness, 1999).
The common themes of all definitions include a focus on providing opportunities for a wilderness experience (supply) that may be accommodated within a management framework. The management framework includes the public purposes of wilderness, the social, biological, and physical desired conditions for the wilderness resource, and actions taken to limit adverse effects of visitor use.
Visitor use capacity, including numeric values for capacity, can also be more specifically defined in ways that reflect the variety of applications and methodologies in use. The following are three examples of the various definitions and approaches to visitor capacity.
Numerical capacity (broad scale) – The number of visitors that could theoretically be in a wilderness over a specified period of time.
Numerical capacity (small scale) – The number of visitors (or other units such as cars at a trailhead, people on a trail, occupied campsites, river launches, etc.) that can be at one place at one time within the physical limits of the site.
Capacity based on conditions – The ability of a wilderness to contain visitor use and activities based on standards or limits of impairment for monitored social, biological, and physical conditions. Capacity can be expressed as a numerical value that is a limit preventing degradation of conditions.